- Welcome back to Houzz TV Live.
I'm Rick Spence, and with me today is Janet Paik
from our Houzz editorial group.
So great to speak with you today Janet.
And you're gonna share with us
a little bit about your backyard.
You got a couple of kiddos,
another one on the way.
I don't know if that's breaking news.
Did I just break that news? (laughing)
- We're all excited to welcome
a little girl this fall.
I've got two boys, five and three.
We've been sheltering at home since mid-March or so.
- [Rick] And so many people, when they think,
"Oh man, it's hard enough sheltering at home,
"can't imagine doing it with kids."
Two kids.
Now it's gonna be three kids,
so I'm sure you're really glad you spent the time
to create this beautiful backyard.
How much work did it need?
- It was definitely not functional when we bought it.
We wanted it to be family friendly.
We wanted it to be a space that could grow with our family
that we could, you know, really use long-term,
and so kind of our overarching goals
was we wanted some multiuse spaces
where we can entertain, have the kids explore
as they got older.
We worked with a local landscape contractor to install
the lawn and do all brand new hardscaping.
- [Rick] So let's talk about some of the components.
Beautiful piece of lawn.
That's always a great start,
place where the kids can run around and have some fun.
The boys look like they're having a great time back there.
- Yeah, we knew that we really wanted to have a big lawn.
We wanted the kids to have space to run around.
What some of the contributing landscape designers
that have written for Houzz have recommended
is making sure that you have, kind of, these different zones
where they will serve different functions.
And so having that long stretch of grass allows the kids
to play soccer and do drills and set up teepees
and little tents so they can do some backyard camping.
Another thing that was important to us
is just having a little transitional play area.
We could transition the space from
the plastic playground structure, to a climbing structure
to then, eventually, a fire pit
which is what we envisioned to have there.
And so we had a circular space installed.
It's filled with playground mulch and it creates, kind of,
a soft landing.
And since shelter-in-place began,
we actually bought them a climbing structure,
and they've been having a lot
of fun enjoying their new toy. (laughs)
- They have their little art studio out there?
- [Janet] Yeah, and that's another idea that I got on Houzz
is just having a designated outdoor art area for the kids.
And so I have a little lightweight wooden picnic table
that I could quickly move around for them
and they could paint, they can draw,
they can do all their messy things outside.
Also got a little wagon of sidewalk chalk.
And I know sidewalk art has been
a popular quarantine activity,
and so we let the kids just have fun with that.
And they can draw to their heart's content
all over our new concrete.
- It's been kids first, obviously,
and then, you know, mom last probably,
but what are you doing for yourself back there?
I see some nice plants happening.
It's, sort of, a work in progress, right?
- Yeah, our plantings are definitely a work in progress.
When we did the landscape renovation,
the one thing that we did keep was an apple tree
which is in the front of the house.
It's really well established and produces hundreds
of apples for us each year.
It's super fun for the kids to pick them in the fall.
We love to share them with friends and family and neighbors.
One of the personalized touches that we added
was we picked out two dwarf Japanese maples,
one for each son.
They, kind of, helped to plant those,
and it's been fun to see those take root.
We'll have to pick out a new plant
for their little sister on the way.
And one of the features that we did,
and what I'm sitting on now, actually,
is a planter wall.
So that runs the whole length of the back fence
and got some succulents here.
I'm still a very novice gardener,
so one of the things I wanted to do
was just make sure we pick low maintenance plants.
So we started with some succulents,
and we'll continue to add to the planter wall.
One of the other things that we did was make sure
that this planter wall was seat height
so that we use it as extra seating when we host parties.
Lots of kid's birthday parties back here
and just dinner parties back when we used
to be able to do that. (laughs)
- I love the seat wall idea.
I think that's a super practical thing
that a lot of people should consider.
What about safety?
Was safety an issue?
You know, you're puttin' stuff in the yard.
You can't watch 'em like a hawk all the time.
What were the safety considerations for the kids?
- So our home doesn't face the street.
It's on a flag lot.
We do share a driveway with the neighbor,
and our street is actually pretty busy,
so it was important to us to have a fence.
And so that was something that we had added once
the landscape project was done.
We wanted to have a fence with the gate that we could lock
and make sure that the kids would stay in the yard,
and we could kinda keep an eye
on them if we're inside the house.
They kind of know their boundaries to make sure
that they shouldn't run to the street
and kinda stay inside where mom
and dad could keep an eye on them.
And it feels like our own little mini private park.
- Tell me about any specific photos that inspired you
for your home.
- Yeah, there's one in particular
that was designed by Habitat London.
Kind of like our yard, just has a really long stretch in
the back of the home,
and that really helped shape the vision
for how we wanted our space to also look and function.
Structures in this particular one
had an in-ground trampoline
which they did some clever concrete screens for.
And then in the back they had a little soccer goal.
I just really liked the look of how clean and modern
and simple the lines were.
Another photo that really inspired us was
from a landscape design project out
of Austin by B. Jane Gardens.
That yard also had multi-zones for their two young kids,
but in particular they had this little area
that was filled with gravel,
sort of like as a sand box,
and she mounted a chalkboard wall
which was really fun for the kids to do chalk art,
but also, I think the idea there was having a space
that can transition over time.
And so right now it serves as kind of a play area
for the kids, but eventually they could build a ADU
or a shed or build something else out in that space,
and I think that's also what we wanted
to achieve in our little circle.
- Well it's a beautiful space.
Congratulations Janet.
Thanks for inviting us into your home.
- My pleasure.
You're welcome to come visit any time as soon
as we're able to visit each other.
- Through the fence, right?
I know, it's crazy.
We'll see ya Janet.
- See you.
- Okay, buh-bye.
- Bye.